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Long March 2F | Shenzhou-2
China Aerospace Science and Technology CorporationLaunch Successful

Shenzhou-2

Long March 2F

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Historical mission record

This page records Long March 2F | Shenzhou-2 and its reported outcome: Launch Successful. The date above is a historical record.

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Mission status
Launch Successful

Status reported by the mission data provider.

LAUNCH SITEJiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Mission

Second test flight of the Shenzhou spacecraft, without crew on board. A monkey, a dog, and a rabbit were carried in a test of the spaceship's life support systems. There were also 64 different scientific payloads, including a microgravity crystallography experiment; animal species including six mice, small aquatic and terrestrial organisms; cosmic ray and particle detectors and gamma-ray burst detectors. To test the radio transmitting systems taped messages were broadcast from the spacecraft. During return to Earth the parachutes failed to open upon re-entry, which resulted in a hard landing of the descent capsule.

Launch vehicle
Long March 2F
Mission type
Human Exploration
Destination orbit
Low Earth Orbit
Spacecraft
Shenzhou 2
Destination
Low Earth Orbit
Launch pad
Launch Area 91 (SLS-1 / 921)
Provider
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Programs
Shenzhou

The vehicle

Published configuration and flight history.

Long March 2F
Launch vehicle

Long March 2F

The Long March 2F is a Chinese orbital carrier rocket, part of the Long March 2 rocket family. Designed to launch the crewed Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March 2F is a human-rated two-stage version of the Long March 2E rocket, which in turn was based on the Long March 2C launch vehicle. It is launched from complex SLS at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

Height
62 m
Diameter
3.35 m
Stages
2
Recorded launches
7
First flight
1999-11-19

Recorded timing

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Launch site & orbit

Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

The mission in perspective

Launch site & orbit

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NASA Blue Marble map of Earth's continents and oceans
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Coverage & sources

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